


The Ghost Dragon

by ImpossibleClair



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Don't copy to another site, Gen, bonding through ghost stories, for @stormleviosa, for the tdp secret exchange on tumblr, general family fluff, makin up all the xadian lore because why not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-01 19:19:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17249891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImpossibleClair/pseuds/ImpossibleClair
Summary: With the dragon prince in tow, Ezran, Callum, and Rayla start their trek down the mountain. As they wait for sleep, Rayla shares an old story from her childhood. But will it inspire, or will it frighten?





	The Ghost Dragon

The mountain winds were cold and brisk, but with the heat of the fire and the light of the moon, the group felt safe and secure. 

Traversing down from the caldera had been slow going with a dragon in tow, so the weary assortment of travellers had agreed to spend the night in the foothills, sheltered from unwanted eyes, but far enough away from the bad memories to sleep peacefully. 

Zym had finally begun to settle as the sun set and the moon rose. It had been a long day of exciting new things for him, and that took a lot out of a little dragon. He had ‘helped’ build the fire, and hovered excitedly over the food while they made dinner, until finally he curled up at Ezran’s side and closed his eyes. 

“Hey Rayla,” Ezran said. “Do you know any stories about dragons?”

Rayla, sharpening her swords, looked up.

“Lots. What kind do to want to hear?”

Ezran considered this, then said “A scary one!”

Callum’s face appeared from around the fire. “Not too scary, though.”

Rayla sniggered. “Scared, Callum?”

Callum blushed and frowned. 

“No! I just don’t want you to scare Ezran, or he’ll be up all night.”

“Hey, I won’t get scared! Probably!”

Rayla shook her head, folding away her swords.

“Okay. I’m just going to tell it and you can both deal with being scared later.”

Ezran pulled a blanket around his shoulders, and Callum moved around the fire to sit next to him. Making herself comfortable on a log, Rayla cleared her throat. 

“This legend dates back to the very first years of the world, before we had names for the magics that flowed through us all. Humankind had not yet been corrupted by dark magic, but it still existed, floating on the edges of reality. It was the chill that ran down your spine, the unease that slipped in with the night, and it was ghosts.”

“Ghosts aren’t real!” Callum scoffed.

Rayla shot him a glare, and he withered. 

“Don’t interrupt me,” she warned. “Where was I?”

“Ghosts made of dark magic?”

“Right. Dark magic was undiscovered, but it still crept into the lives of every being. This is the tale of Irtsemy, the ghost dragon.”

Ezran and Callum waited for her to continue. Zym’s eyes were still closed, but his ears flicked forward, listening. 

“Irtsemy was the daughter of a king,” Rayla continued. “She was a dragon born of the moon, and her scales were crescents of light and shadow. Looking into her eyes was like seeing the core of the moon. When she spread her wings, it put the most beautiful moonrise to shame. So beautiful she was, that she moon grew jealous of her, and sent down to her realm a beast made of dark moonlight. During the dark of the moon, the creature slithered into Irtsemy’s chamber, and slit her throat.”

Ezran gasped.

“When the king found his daughter dead, he swore vengeance. But how does one take vengeance upon the moon? He thought for seven days and seven nights, and yet nothing came to him. He lay defeated, in mourning, on the eighth night. He had found a cave so deep that the moonlight could not enter, and thus the moon was blind. And in the darkness, she came.”

The princes leaned forward. Zym, having abandoned the pretence of sleep, also lifted his head. 

“Who was it?” Ezran whispered. 

Rayla turned, just enough for the firelight to reflect in her eyes, turning them a frightening silver.

“Irtsemy, the ghost dragon.”

They’d expected it, but they gasped anyway. 

“When he saw her ghostly form, the king wept for fear, for he knew that dark magic had claimed her soul. But he also wept for joy, because his daughter once more stood before him, as radiant as she was in life. She spoke to him, and she told him the secret to vengeance upon the moon. He must renounce his powers, given to him by the moon. This would anger her, and show her that he would not tolerate her actions.”

“That seems like a bit much,” Callum said. “I mean, couldn’t he just, I don’t know, destroy a shrine or something?”

“What did I say about interrupting?”

Under Rayla’s glare, Callum closed his mouth. 

“The king did as his daughter instructed, and relinquished his magic. This enraged the moon. She spoke to the king, demanded that he accept the powers she granted to him, but he refuses. In her rage, the moon cast down darkness and killed the king, and all his family. Their cavern lies abandoned to this day. But some say, if you enter the caverns at the dark of the moon, you can hear the ghosts of the dragons sharpening their claws for the day they can seek revenge against the moon and all her creatures.”

Rayla sat back.

“How was that?”

Callum was sitting back nonchalantly, but Ezran had all but vanished under his blanket. Zym’s head popped out from beneath it and chirped. 

“It was great!” Ezran said, throwing off the blanket. “It was so scary!”

“Pshh, was not!”

Zym grumbled at Callum and nipped at his fingers. 

“Hey!”

Ezran laughed, and Rayla smiled. 

*

The fire had died down to a few glowing embers, but Ezran was still wide awake. He pulled his blanket further up, almost covering his face. Under his arm, Zym squirmed and snuggled closer to him. He could hear Callum and Rayla’s breathing not far away, but despite the safety he felt in their presence, his mind continued to conjure shapes from the dark. 

He closed his eyes tight, reminding himself that it was just his imagination. It was just a story. Just an old story. It wasn’t real. 

But he knew a lot of old stories that were real. 

He sat up, keeping the blanket tightly around himself and the baby dragon, who huffed at being woken up. 

“Callum,” he hissed. “Hey, Callum!”

The older prince rolled over. 

“What?” he mumbled. 

“Can I come sleep over there with you?”

Callum sighed, but his heart wasn’t in it. 

“Sure.”

Ezran shuffled over and settled beside his brother. Zym padded round for a few minutes before deciding that the snuggliest place to sleep was between the two princes. He nosed his way under the blankets and squished himself in until he was comfortable.

Comforted by each other’s presence, the princes began to fall into a deep sleep. Ezran was finally surrendering to the heaviness of his eyes when he heard someone beside him. His breath caught, but then he recognized the horned silhouette of Rayla. She curled up beside him, not touching, but not out of reach either. 

Ezran smiled. He cuddled Zym closer, and let sleep take him through to morning. 


End file.
